Sight mechanism for firearms



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SIGHT MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS Filed March 21, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l 17/ f w Z9 ll 15 35 ":i 9

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Dec. 18, 1956 o. o. SUNDERLAND 2,774,143

SIGHT MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS Filed March 21 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYJ United States Patent SIGHT MECHANISM FOR FIREARMS Oswald 0. Sunderland, Fairfield, Conn. Application March 21, 1955, Serial No. 495,735

10 Claims. (Cl. 33-56) This invention relates to a sight mechanism for firearms, and more particularly to a sigh-t mechanism for a firearm such as a pistol or rifle, for example, wherein it is desired to make adjustments in the sight for windage and also for elevation or distance of the target from the shooter.

In sight mechanisms for firearms it is usual to provide a front and rear sight, the rear sight being capable of adjustment laterally so as to vary the line of sight according to the direction and velocity of the wind and also adjustable vertically so as to vary the elevation of the gun barrel when pointed at a given target to make allowance for the effect of gravity upon the projectile which, of course, depends upon the distance of the marksman from the target.

Such adjustable sights are usually composed of a number of parts and in many instances the position of the parts is disturbed by the vibration caused by the firing of the gun so that the adjustment is no longer accurate. Also the structure of such adjustable sights is often of a complex nature so that it is not only relatively expensive to manufacture, but also is subject to getting out of order from one cause or another. It is, of course, a desirable feature that the mechanism be as simple as possible and that it be so constructed that the adjustments both for windage and for elevation may be readily made while at the same time the adjustments will not be disturbed by .the handling of the gun or the vibration due to its use.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved rear gun sight for firearms.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rear gun sight for firearms such as rifles, pistols or the like, which is simple in construction and which may be adjusted both for windage and elevation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a gun sight for firearms of the type described so that the adjustments of the sight both for elevation and windage may be conveniently made and which will continue to be accurate after extensive use of the sight.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a gun sight for firearms of the type described which sight may be accurately adjusted both for windage and for elevation and which will be of simple construction so that it may be economically manufactured, will not be deranged by vibrations to which the gun is subjected, and will be durable in use.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the rear end of the barrel of a firearm having my improved sight applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the base or mounting of the sight;

2,774,143 Patented Dec. 18, 1956 Fig. 6 is an exploded view of the adjusting mechanism; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the movable sighting leaf.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown in the drawings the rear portion of the slide 10 of a gun, which in this instance is a pistol although the invention is not limited to this type of firearm. Mounted upon the slide is my improved sight which comprises a base or mounting designated generally by the numeral 11 shown particularly in Fig. 5 and a movable sight leaf 12 shown in Fig. 7.

As illustrated, the lower portion of the base or mounting 11 is dovetailed, as shown at 13, and is adapted to be inserted laterally in a dovetailed opening 14 in the slide where it may be secured in any approved manner. The base 11 also includes a pair of upstanding and forwardly extending arms 15 and 16 provided with openings 17 to receive a pin 19 (Fig. 1) upon which the sight leaf is pivoted as will be hereinafter explained.

The base member 11 is also provided with aligned openings 20 and 21, the opening 21 being threaded for a purpose which will appear hereinafter, and it is also provided with a through opening 22.

The movable sight leaf is of T-shaped form, as shown in Fig. 7, provided with a forwardly extending portion 23 and a laterally extending portion 24 at its rear end. The portion 23 of the sight leaf is provided with a through opening 25 adapted to receive the pin 19 previously described and a spring 26 is wound about the pin 19, the ends of which project below the arms 15 and 16 of the base. The bight portion of this spring rests in a groove 27 in the portion 23, and the spring will be so tensioned as to urge the sight leaf in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 2, or in a direction toward the slide of the gun about the pin 19.

The portion 23 of the sight leaf extends rearwardly from the pin 19 between the arms 15 and 16 of the base and the laterally extending portion 24 lies rearwardly of these arms, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Mechanism is provided for raising the rear end of the sight leaf and also for moving the sight leaf laterally upon the pin 19, this mechanism being shown in the exploded perspective view of Fig. 6.

This adjusting mechanism comprises two parts, one of which consists of a threaded hollow stem 28 which is received in the threaded opening 21 and a turn button 29 secured upon this stem. The other member of the adjusting mechanism consists of a shaft 30 having a collar 31 thereon and also a cam-shaped portion 32 between this collar and an enlargement 34. Upon the end of this shaft is a turn button 35 by which the shaft may be rotated.

It may be noted that the turn button 29 is provided with indicia 36 upon its outer face to show the adjustment of the mechanism and, as shown in Fig. 2, indicia is also provided on the outer face of the turn button 35. Also the button 29 and stem 28 are provided with a through opening 38 to receive the shaft 30 of the cooperating member.

In assembling the sight after the base has been mounted in the dovetail groove 14 and the sight leaf mounted upon the pin 19, the stem 28 is threaded into the opening 21. Thereafter the shaft 30 is inserted in the opening 38 of the stem 28 and the projecting end of the shaft 30 may be provided with a groove 39 within which may be engaged a retaining member 40 to retain the shaft 30 in place in the base member 11. It will, of course, be understood that the stem 28 is retained by its threaded connection with the base.

In this position of the parts the undersurface of the portion 23 of the sight leaf 12 will rest upon the cam portion 32 of the shaft 30 between the shoulders formed by the collar 31 and the enlarged portion 34 of the stem. If desired, the recesses 41 may be provided in the outer side faces of the portion 23 to receive the collar 31 and the enlarged portion 34 so that the sight leaf will always rest upon the cam, being urged into engagement with the cam by the spring 26.

Plungers 42 and 43 are positioned in the outer portions of the opening 22 in the base, these plungers being urged outwardly by a spring 44 so that their outer ends engage depressions or recesses 45 in the turn buttons 29 and 35. Thus the members 29 and 35 are resiliently and releasably retained in the various positions to which they may be moved.

It will be apparent that, as shown in Fig. 4, the two parts of the adjusting mechanism are clamped tightly together by the retaining member 40 and the collar 31. Therefore, when the button 29 is turned, the entire assembly will be caused to move laterally by the threaded connection of the stem 28 with the base. As the sight leaf is lodged snugly between the members 31 and 34, this will also be carried laterally, the portion 23 sliding along the pin 19. This will adjust the sight for windage.

If it is desired to adjust the elevation of the sight, the button 35 may be turned (and it will be understood that either adjusting button turns independently of the other) and the cam 32 will be rotated, thus raising or lowering the sight leaf 12.

Upward movement of the sight leaf 23 is limited by the engagement of the lugs 47 on the sight leaf which engage the projections 48 on the base 11 when the sight leaf reaches the limit of its elevated position. This prevents the leaf from becoming displaced with respect to the cam and mounting.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base, a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding bodily movements on said pin, a cam member rotatably mounted in the base on an axis substantially parallel to said pivot pin with the leaf resting on said cam, means to rotate said cam to move the sight leaf about the pivot pin, and means rotatable about the axis of said cam member to effect lateral sliding movements of said leaf on said pin.

2. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base, a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding bodily movements on said pin, a cam member rotatably mounted in the base on an axis substantially parallel to said pivot pin with the leaf resting on said cam, means to rotate said cam to move the sight leaf about the pivot pin, a spring carried by said pin to urge the sight leaf toward the cam, and means to effect lateral sliding movements of said leaf on said pin.

3. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base, a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding bodily movements on said pin, a cam member rotatably mounted in the base on an axis substantially parallel to said pivot pin with the leaf resting on said cam, means to rotate said cam to move the sight leaf about the pivot pin, and means to move said leaf laterally on said pin.

4. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base, a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding movements, a shaft rotatably mounted in the base and disposed substantially parallel to said pivot pin, a cam on said shaft upon which said sight rests, means for rotating said shaft to move the leaf about its pivot, means for moving said shaft longitudinally of its axis with respect to the base, and means constraining said leaf to move with the shaft upon longitudinal movement of the latter.

5. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base, a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding movements, a shaft rotatably mounted in the base and disposed substantially parallel to said pivot pin, a cam on said sha'ft upon which said sight rests, means for rotating said shaft to move the leaf about its pivot, means for moving said shaft longitudinally of its axis with respect to the base, and means constraining said leaf to move with the shaft upon longitudinal movement of the latter, said last-named means comprising spaced abutments on the shaft between which a part of the leaf extends.

6. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base, a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding movements, a shaft rotatably mounted in the base and disposed substantially parallel to said pivot pin, a cam on said shaft upon which said sight rests, means for rotating said shaft to move the leaf about its pivot, means for moving said shaft longitudinally of its axis with respect to the base, and means constraining said leaf to move with the shaft upon longitudinal movement of the latter, said lastnamed means comprising spaced abutments on the shaft between which a part of the leaf extends, and one of said abutments being on each side of said cam.

7. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base,

a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight' leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding movements, a shaft rotatably mounted in the base and disposed substantially parallel to said pivot pin, a cam on said shaft upon which said sight rests, means for rotating said shaft to move the leaf about its pivot, means for moving said shaft longitudinally of its axis with respect to the base, said means comprising a hollow stem threaded into the base within which one end of the shaft is rotatably mounted, and means constraining said leaf to move with the shaft upon longitudinal movement of the latter.

8. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base, a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding bodily movements on said pin, a shaft rotatably mounted in the base and disposed substantially parallel to said pivot pin, a cam on said shaft upon which said sight rests, means to rotate said shaft to move the leaf about its pivot, spring means to urge said shaft toward the cam, and means rotatably mounted on the axis of said shaft to effect lateral sliding movements of said leaf on said pin.

9. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base, a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding movements, a shaft rotatably mounted in the base and disposed substantially parallel to the pivot pin, a cam on said shaft upon which said sight leaf rests, interengaging means upon said shaft and leaf to restrain the leaf against movement longitudinally of the shaft, and co-axially mounted means to rotate said shaft and effect longitudinal movement of the latter in the base to move the leaf about its pivot and to move it laterally of the base.

10. A sight for firearms, said sight comprising a base, a horizontally disposed pivot pin carried thereby, a sight leaf mounted on said pin for pivotal movement about the axis of the pin and for lateral sliding movements, a

shaft rotatably mounted in the base and disposed substantially parallel to said pivot pin, a cam on said shaft upon which said sight leaf rests, a hollow stem threadedly connected to the base in which one end of said shaft is rotatably mounted but restrained from longitudinal movement with respect thereto, an abutment on said shaft on each side of said cam between which a part of said sight leaf is received to effect lateral movement of the sight leaf with respect to the base when the shaft is moved longitudinally, means for rotating References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 290,739 Brown Dec. 25, 1883 2,343,802 Rodney Mar. 7, 1944 2,438,601 Davis Mar. 30, 1948 

